Holidays do not provide instant stress relief as Brits often take vacation time to unwind, claims a new survey.

Researchers from Keycamp concluded that a Brit tourist takes two days, nine hours and 25 minutes of their holiday to start to relax.

With the average holiday lasting just nine days this means vital time is lost, especially as the first day is spent travelling to the destination and the next day is spent recovering from the journey and then unpacking.

Dave McKenna, marketing manager for Keycamp, which carried out the poll, said: ''This survey shows people get so carried away with planning and researching our holiday, it seems we forget the reason we're going on a break."

He added that British holidaymakers need to enjoy the precious time with family and friends rather than thinking of issues back home with 11 per cent of those surveyed admitting to taking work on holiday with them.

Meanwhile, despite security risks and fears over the economy, a BBC survey revealed that a third of Brits will continue to take holidays overseas even if the UK enters a period of financial recession.